Horizontally fired gas-oil burner



Nov. 25, 1%2 c. c. YOUNG 2,619,159

HORIZONTALLY FIRED GAS-OIL BURNER Filed Sept. 28, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet l6" 131% CZzazjesfoazi NOV. 25, 1952 C- Q YOUNG HORIZONTALLY FIREDGAS-OIL BURNER 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 28, 1949 Eff Nov. 25, 1952c. c. YOUNG 2,619,159

HORIZONTALLY FIRED GAS-OIL BURNER Filed Sept. 28, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 5,fn Velt/.7l DF Patented Nov. 25, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE rlhisinvention relates generally to a burner unit of a heating structure andmore particu-I larly to a combination gas and oil burner-unit which maybe red in a horizontal position'.v

Burner units have been devised in the past which normally operate on agaseous fuel but which are capable of conversion to operation on an oilfuel in periods of extreme cold weather or reduced gas supply. Themajorityl of com bination gas and oil burners of this type have beendeveloped for adaptation in conventional heating structures and have,therefore. fre quently required that the burner unit. be con structedfor use in a generally vertical position. Furthermore, most of theburner units. heretofore developed have relied upon an atomization orspraying of the fuel oil to effect thev necessary break-up and mixing offuel oil with an air stream for combustion purposes. Consequently, suchunits haveV usually required that the oil be supplied to a nozzle underpressure or that the oil be sprayed against a grate by a spray headrotating at a high velocity. Of

wherein oil fuel. is vaporized prior to combus-V tion by heat andv whichis capable of` being fired. in a horizontal position, thus making thecombustion system suitable for use in suspended. unit,

heaters and other types of equipment in which it is desirable to use aminimum of head room.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an improvedburner unit for a combina,- tion gas and oil burner whichy is capable ofbe ing fired in a horizontal position.`

Another object of the present invention is to provide a simplifiedcompact combustion system 11 claims. (c1. rss- 11) jects thereof willbecome manifest to those versed inthe artr upon making reference to thedetailed description which follows and the annexed sheets of drawings*in which a specific embodiment of the invention is shown by way ofpreferred example; f

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is' ak cross-sectional view with parts broken away andl withparts shown in elevation showing a horizontally red combination gas'-oil burner unit according to the present invention.

Figure 2'is a Vfragmentary detail View taken on line II--IIl of Figure1;

lligure 3 is a cross-sectional view with parts broken away and partsshown in elevation taken on line III-III of Figure 1;V

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional View with parts in elevation taken on lineIV--IV of Figure 1;l

Figure 5 in a fragmentary detail view taken on line V-V of Figure 1; and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary detail view taken on line VI-VI of Figure 1.

As shown on the drawings:`

The burner. assembly of the present invention isindicated generally bythe reference numeralV l0 and includes a vaporizer pan or tray Il ofgeneral rectangular configuration and covered by a top or roof I2`which, together with the pan 0r tray Il, defines a vaporizercompartn'lent lf3 with. aw burner port l# at. one end thereof generallydisposed on a horizontally aligned axis;

An oil inlet. I6 isl connected at the frontbottom central section ofthe. vaporizer pan. or tray lvl and extends through the front wall ofthe Ivaporizer pan or tray Il as well as the front wall of anouter-Sheller casing Il which forms an` annular air chamber l8- insurrounding relationship to the vaporizer compartment I3;

A gas. burner mixer tube I9 isf located above the vaporizer pan or trayIl and discharges throughthe central section of the vaporizercompertinentl I3 inv the general directionA of the burnerk port: I4.

A supplyof air. may be forced under pressure;

through an .air conduitV 20 intoI theannular airl chamber I8 between thecasing Il and the. vaporizer compartment I3.

In order to operate the burner assembly l0 on a,y gas` fuel, thevgasfuel and primary air may be supplied. inv a. conventional manner bymeans of the gas burner mixer tube I9. As will be noted upon thedrawings, the gas burner mixer tube I9 is provided with a burner outletas at I 9a so that the supply of gas and primary combustion supportingair will be thoroughly intermixed before entering the vaporizercompartment I3.

Secondary air for supporting combustion will enter the vaporizercompartment under a natural draft through apertures 2I (Figures 3 and 6)formed in the forward wall and tertiary air will be supplied around theoutside of the casing I1 but within the passage of a duct 22 defined ina heat exchanger in which the combustion unit or burner assembly IE) maybe installed. The flow of the tertiary air is indicated by the arrowsidentified by the reference character 23.

A limited amount of secondary air may also be admitted into thevaporizer compartment I3 during operation of the burner assembly I8 ongas fuel by supplying air under atmospheric pressure through the airconduit 20 into the annular air chamber I8 and through apertures 24,apertures 25, apertures 26 and apertures 21 (Figures 1 and 3). It willbe evident that the problem of supplying air to support combustion isactually of more significance in connection with the operation of theburner assembly I on an oil cycle which will be explained presently.

A pilot burner 28 is employed in the burner assembly I0 for the purposeof igniting the gas and oil fuels employed therein. The pilot burner 28is preferably located in a central position relative to the apertures 2Iand may comprise a burner mixer of a conventional design so as tosupply7 a combustible mixture of gas to a plurality of pilot burnerports 26. The ports 29 are so arranged that the ignition of the gasemanating from any one port will ignite the gas emanating i from theremaining ports.

The pilot burner 28 is preferably provided with two enlarged ports, abottom port 29a which lies over the bottom of the oil vaporizer pan ortray I I at the mouth of the oil inlet conduit I6 and a top port 29hwhich is directed generally towards the mouth of the gas burner mixertube I9 for igniting the main gas burner. v

A plurality of baffles indicated by the reference numerals 3| and 32control the supply of combustion supporting air to the pilot burnerports.'

A baffle 33a and a bafiie 33h protect the pilot burner flames fromexcessive air velocity and gases which might interfere with a continuouscombustion thereof.

Asegment of the forward wall of the vaporizer pan or tray II is set backon an angle as indicated by reference numeral IIa (Figure 1) toaccommodate the pilot burner 28, the pilot burner taking theconfiguration of a modified L. The pilot burner 28 may also be equippedwith the usual heat sensitive element 28a for the purpose of cutting outthe fuel supply thereto in the event of the failure of the pilot flamewhich emanates from the pilot burner ports.

When operating the burner assembly I6 on an oil cycle, oil may bedelivered to the vaporizer pan or tray II through the oil inlet conduitI6 by conventional means, the details of which are not believednecessary to the understanding of the present invention. lt may benoted, however, that it is contemplated that the burner assembly of thepresent invention may be incorporated in a control system for acombination gas and oil burner unit, the principles of which aredisclosed and claimed in my copending application, Serial No. 47,319,filed September' 11, 1948.

Oil entering the vaporizer pan or tray Il will be instantly ignited bythe flame emanating from the pilot port 29a of the pilot burner 2Combustion supporting air will be simultaneously made available by thestarting of a blower (not shown) connected to the combustion headthrough the air conduit 20 so that air under prersure will pass throughthe air conduit 26 into the annular air chamber I8 and then through theapertures 24 and the apertures 25 and 26 defined by the vaporizer pan ortray II, as well as the apertures 21, into the vaporizer compartment I3.

As will be evident from Figures 1 and 3, the apertures 24 may be spacedacross the entire front Wall portion of the vaporizer pan or tray II andthe opposite wall of the pan or tray II may be curved upwardly so as todefine a throat for the burner port I4 with the apertures 25 and theapertures 26 disposed in staggered array across the entire width of thepan or tray I I.

By virture of the spacing arrangement of the apertures 24, 25, 26 and21, an adequate amount of combustion supporting air will enter thevaporizer compartment I3 and sufficient heat will be generated Withinthe vaporizer compartment I3 to supply heat of vaporization to the oilfuel which will tend to collect in the vaporizer pan or tray I I.

Additional combustion supporting air will enter the vaporizercompartment I3 through the apertures 2I and will be deflected anddistributed by the baffles 34. Some air will be supplied to thevaporizer compartment I3 through the gas burner mixer tube I9.

Tertiary air will be supplied through the combustion chamber burner boxas indicated by the arrows 23 into the fire box (not shown) wherein anydeficiencies in the quantity of combustion supporting air necessary topromote full combustion of the oil fuel will be supplied.

It will also be noted that the present invention contemplates theprovision of a central inspirating nozzle indicated by the referencenumeral 36 and located at the center of the gas burner mixer tube I9.The inspirating nozzle 36 may conveniently take the form of a rightangle L open at both ends so as to establish communication with theannular air chamber I8. The inspirating nozzle 36 does not greatlyrestrict the mouth of the gas burner mixer tube I9 and effectivelydirects a stream of combustion supporting air in the form of a jetthrough the center of the vaporizer compartment I3 in the generaldirection of the burner port I4 so as to help in the breaking up of' anycore of oil vapor which may possibly form in the vaporizer compartment.

In order to burn any oil vapors which may possibly be sucked in aroundthe inspirating nozzle 36 by the vacuum created as a result of the airvelocity, a ring of small orifices 31 is defined by the inspiratingnozzle 36 and arranged so as to direct a plurality of air jets outwardlyjust clear of the forward edge of the main gas outlet defined by theVenturi section I9a.

The present invention further contemplates the provision of a ring ofjets at the main burner outlet or burner port I4, such provision beingbest illustrated in Figures 1 and 3. Reference to these figures willshow a plurality of large ports 38 formed with flared edges as at 38a sothat air passing therethrough from the annular chamber I8 will bedirected inwardly toward the center of the burner port I4. The ports 38are spaced from the apertures 21 so as to form a double row of airports. By employing such a.

double row, the large ports 38 will operate not only to furnish airstreams to entrain oil vapor and break up any possible vapor coreformation, but the row of small ports or apertures 21 will, at the sametime, supply sumcient air to avoid carbon deposits around the edges ofthe large ports 38.

It Will be evident that I have described a novel and improvedhorizontally red combination gas and oil burner unit which is ideallysuited for adaptation in a combustion system requiring a minimization ofhead room.

It will be understood, of course, that a person skilled in the art mightsuggest various minor modifications to the preferred embodiment hereindescribed by way of illustrative example only, however, I do not proposeto be limited to the precise details set out for the sake of clarity butwish to embrace within the scope of this patent all such modificationsas reasonably and properly come within the scope of my contribution tothe art.

I claim as my invention:

l. A horizontally-fired combination oil and gas burner unit comprising,in combination, an oil vaporizer tray, a casing means forming with thetray a vaporizer compartment with a generally horizontally disposedburner port and having a forward wall opposite the burner port, agasburner-mixer tube spaced above the tray and projecting through theforward wall to fire through the central section of the vaporizercompartment towards the burner port, an oil inlet conduit for thevaporizer tray extending through the forward wall and a casing formingan air chamber around the vaporizer compartment, said casing meanshaving a plurality of spaced apertures to admit combustion supportingair from the air chamber to the vaporizer compartment.

2. In a horizontally fired combination oil and gas burner, a tray, meansto supply oil fuel to said tray, spaced walls forming together with saidtray a vaporizer compartment with a generally horizontally disposedburner port and an annular air chamber surrounding the vaporizer,

compartment, a gas-burner-mixer tube spaced above the tray andprojecting through the air chamber into the vaporizer compartment tofire toward the burner port, and an inspirator nozzle at the center ofthe gas-burner-mixer tube and communicating with the annular air chamberto direct a jet of combustion supporting air into the vaporizercompartment t0 help break up any vapor core forming therein.

3. In a combination oil and gas burner, inner and outer casings defininga generally annular air chamber therebetween, the inner casing providinga vaporizer chamber having a lower dished portion for containing oil andhaving a generally horizontally directed main burner port, means tosupply a quantity of oil to said lower dished portion and nozzle meansextending through said casings to project a gas fuel into said vaporizerchamber toward said burner port, a pilot burner having a. port fordirecting a flame toward said dished portion to ignite said oil andhaving auxiliary ports for directing flames into said vaporizer chamberto ignite said gas fuel and means for introducing air under pressureinto said annular chamber, said inner casing being provided withapertures surrounding and adjacent said main burner port for theadmission of air from said annular chamber into said vaporizer chamberin the direction of said main burner port. 75

4. In an oil burner. inner and outer casings defining a vaporizercompartment with a generally annular air chamber surrounding thevaporizer compartment, the inner casing having a lower dished portionfor containing oil and for forming the floor of the vaporizercompartment, means for supplying oil to said lower dished portion, agenerally horizontally directed main burner port defined by both theinner and outer casings, means for introducing pressurized air into theair chamber, said inner casing having a plurality of openings to admitair from the air chamber into the vaporizer compartment and aninspirating nozzle connecting the vaporizer compartment and the airchamber arranged to directA a jet of air across the vaporizercompartment towards said burner port to help break up any vapor coreforming therein.

5. A horizontally-fired combination oil and gas burner unit comprising,in combination, an oil vaporizer tray, a casing means forming with thetray a vaporizer compartment with a. generally horizontally disposedburner port and having a forward wall opposite the burner port, agasburner-mixer tube spaced above the tray and projecting through theforward wall to. re through the central section of the vaporizercompartment towards the burner port, an oil inlet conduit for thevaporizer tray extending through the forward wall, a casing forming anair chamber around the vaporizer compartment, said casing means having aplurality of spaced apertures to admit combustion supporting air fromthe air chamber to the vaporizer compartment and a pilot burnerextending through said forward wall and having a first openingarrangedto direct an ignition flame toward said tray to ignite the oiltherein and a second opening arranged to direct an ignition flame towardsaid gas burner mixer tube to ignite. the gas fuel emanating therefrom.

6. A burner unit as defined in claim 5 and baille means carried by theforward wall and arranged to lie between said vaporizer compartment andsaid pilot burner to shield the pilot burner.

'7. A horizontally-fired combination oil and gas burner unitlcomprising, in combination, an oil vaporizer tray, a casing meansforming with the tray a vaporizer compartment with a generallyhorizontally disposed burner port and having a forward wall opposite theburner port, a gasburner-mixer tube spaced above the tray and projectingthrough the forward wall to fire through the central section of thevaporizer compartment towards the burner port, anoil inlet conduit forthe vaporizer tray extending through the forward wall and a casingfoming an air chamber around the vaporizer compartment, said casingmeans having a plurality of spaced apertures to admit combustionsupporting air from the air chamber to the vaporizer compartment, saidspaced apertures including a double row of spaced apertures adjacent theburner port, the apertures in the row nearer Vthe burner port being ofproportionally lager size and each of said larger apertures having theedges thereof angularly offset so as to direct air from the air chamberin a jet fashion toward the center of the burner port.

8. In a horizontally-fired combination oil and gas burner, a tray, meansto supply oil fuel to said tray, spaced walls forming together with saidtray, a vaporizer compartment with a generally horizontally disposedburner port and an annular air chamber surrounding the vaporizercompartment, a gas-burner-mixer tube spaced above the tray andprojecting through the air chamber into the vaporizer compartment to retowards the burner port, and an inspirator nozzle at the center of thegas-burner-mixer tube and communicating with the annular air chamber todirect a jet of combustion-supporting air into the vaporizer'compartment to help break up any vapor core forming therein, theinnermost of said spaced walls having a plurality of openings therein toadmit additional combustion-supporting air from the air chamber into thevaporizer compartment.

9. In a horizontally-fired combination oil and gas burner, a tray, meansto supply oil fuel to said tray, spaced walls forming together with saidtray, a vaporizer compartment with a generally horizontally disposedburner port and an annular air chamber surrounding the vaporizercompartment, a gas-burner-mixer tube spaced above the tray andprojecting through the air chamber into the vaporizer compartment to retowards the burner port, and an inspirator nozzle at the center of thegas-burner-mixer tube and communicating with the annular air chamber todirect a jet of combustion supporting ai;` into the vaporizercompartment to help break up any vapor core forming therein, saidinspirator nozzle having a plurality of orices near the end thereofarranged to direct a plurality of air jets outwardly towards the end ofthe gas-burner-mixer tube.

10. A horizontally-fired combination oil and gas burner unit comprising,in combination, an oil vaporizer tray, a cover superjacent the tray andforming therewith a vaporizer compartment with a generally horizontallydisposed burner port, a forward wall opposite the burner port andcooperating with the cover and tray to bound the vaporizer compartment,a gas-burner-mixer tube spaced above the tray and projecting through theforward wall to re through the central section of the vaporizercompartment towards the burner port, an oil inlet conduit for thevaporizer tray extending through the forward wall, a casing forming anair chamber around the vaporizer compartment, said cover having aplurality of spaced apertures to admit combustion supporting air fromthe air chamber to the vaporizer compartment and means dening with saidcasing, a duct around the burner unit assembly through which additionalcombustion supporting air may flow towards the burner port.

11. In a horizontally red fuel burner unit, a vaporizer tray, means tosupply a vaporizable fuel to said tray, walls forming together with saidtray a vaporizer compartment with a generally horizontally disposedburner port, and a casing surrounding the vaporizer compartment toprovide an air chamber therefor, the walls of said vaporizer compartmenthaving a plurality of apertures including two annular rows of spacedapertures adjacent said burner port, the aper- Itures in the one of saidtwo rows positioned nearer the burner port being of larger size than theapertures in the other of said two rows of spaced apertures and havingthe edges thereof angularly offset so as to direct air from the airchamber in a jet fashion centrally and outwardly of the burner port, thesmaller apertures in said other row being aligned relative to said onerow of spaced apertures and disposed inwardly there of to introduce aircentrally of the burner port ahead of the centrally and outwardlydirected air from said one row of apertures to minimize the formation ofcarbon at the edges of the larger apertures.

CYRIL CHARLES YOUNG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ille ofthis patent:

